The Victim Exposed In Melinda's Speak

According to a graph in the” RAINN” article, 15% of sexual assaults occur in an open public place. In the book “Speak” Melinda got raped during a friend's party at the end of summer. I read the book “Speak” and articles RAINN, PTSD, Lady Gaga, and The Perfect Victim. They all explain how the victim was affected, how the victim copes with being raped, and the relationships the victim had with people after they were raped. The first similarity i see is how the victim was affected after being raped. On page 114 in “Speak” Melinda’s mother says “That's the point, she won't say anything! I can't get a word out of her she's mute.” not saying anything is just one of the ways a victim could be affected. By not saying anything they think it will help to keep their thoughts inside. It says in the PTSD article that other symptoms may include: “Nightmares, frightening thoughts, sweating and shaking, refusing to discuss the event, avoiding things that remind the person of the event.” Melinda had most these symptoms. For example, on page 161 when she thinks to herself “I am a deer frozen in the headlights of a tractor trailer. Is he going to hurt me again? He couldn't, not

In the book Melinda creates a sculpture with turkey bones and she puts a barbie head in the center of it with thape over its mouth resembling hoe melinda is “mute” Arts and crafts is one of the ways people cope with PTSD. when they are focused on one thing it distracts them from thinking about their traumatic experience. In the PTSD article on lines 92 and 93 it says “There are times when the PTSD symptoms become so severe that the victim considers harming himself/herself.” and that is what Melinda decides to do on page 87 when she takes a paperclip and cuts her wrist. This is her way of trying to speak out. And when her mom sees it she says “I don't have time for this Melinda” Which brings me to my next point, How others feel about the